We continue to journey through the season of Lent, the 40 days before Easter. This is a time

of soul-searching, prayer, repentance, almsgiving and fasting. May we give more of our-

selves to the Lord and others around us. The Liturgical Colour during Lent is purple.

During Lent the Church calls us to prayer and fasting. Let us consider:

FASTING FROM and consider FEASTING ON

FAST from judging others; FEAST on the Christ within.

FAST from busyness; FEAST on quiet time and silent prayer

FAST from emphasis on differences; FEAST on the unity of life.

FAST from thoughts of illness; FEAST on the healing power of God.

FAST from discontent; FEAST on gratitude.

FAST from anger; FEAST on patience.

FAST from pessimism; FEAST on optimism.

FAST from worry; FEAST on trust in God.

FAST from complaining; FEAST on appreciation.

FAST from bitterness; FEAST on mellowness.

Fasting and Feasting in Lent

BSCH Hockey Clinic

Thank you very much to Bishop Smith

Catholic High School for leading a hockey

clinic for our grade 7 students earlier this

month! Students loved being Crusaders for

the day. I was so impressed with the risks

students took to learn new skills. They had

a blast!

Special points of interest:

Welcome back to Mr. Nichol who will

return as VP/SERT after March Break!

With Mr. Nichol’s return, Mrs. McLaugh-lin (SERT) and Mrs. List (JK/SK) will

resume their regular positions. Thank you

very much to these ladies as well as Miss Giroux for their hard work, dedication and

enthusiasm. Best wishes to Miss Giroux!

Inside this issue:

Celebrations From February 2

Parish News 3

School Council 4

Student Achievement/Mental Health 6

Mindset 7

Prayer 8 Ou

r L

ad

y o

f S

or

ro

ws

MA

RC

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20

15

N

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Principal: Christina Brown

VP: Katherine McLaughlin

This is what Yahweh asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

Page 2

Celebrating Great Things That Happened in February

OU R LA DY OF S OR ROWS

Follow us on Twitter @OLSrccdsb!

This is a way to celebrate what we do and communicate

reminders and upcoming events.

Gr. 7 Boys Retreat Reading With Therapy Dog Science Lighthouse

Super Student Awards Skating at Petawawa Civic Centre 100’s Day

Trip to Shaw Woods Cheering on BSCH Hockey Boys

PRI NCI PA L: CHRIST I NA B R OW N

Our Grade 7 girls participated in their

basketball tournament at Mackenzie

High in Deep River. They worked

really hard and had a tonne of fun.

They came home champions of the

tournament! Way to go OLS girls!

Thank you very much to Miss Giroux

for all her time and effort coaching!

Also, thank you to Mr. Silmser for

helping out with this team.

Our Grade 7 boys participated in a bas-

ketball tournament at Fellows High

School last Thursday. They started out

on a high note and ended up in the semi

finals. There, they came up short and

fell 14—9 to Our Lady of Lourdes

School. Congratulations to all boys on

an amazing tournament! You perse-

vered and made us proud. Thank you

to Mr. Silmser for coaching the team!

It was won-

derful to

celebrate the

beginning of

Lent by at-

tending Ash

Wednesday

mass at Our

Lady of Sor-

rows Parish. Thank you to Father Bal-

lard for this!

School Phone Number

Since our names are so similar, Our Lady of

Sorrows Parish regularly receives calls meant

for our school. Please use the number below

to notify the school of absences or to leave

messages for our school.

613-687-5918

Our annual school spelling bee was a great success! We were so pleased to see the number of students who participated. Con-

gratulations to all who were involved! It takes a lot of courage to get up in front of peers, staff and parents to spell words they

may or may not be familiar with. Special recognition goes to our finalists, Bryson DesRoche for the primary competition and

Georgia Burchart for the junior/intermediate competition. Way to go!

Thank you very much to Mrs. McLaughlin, Mrs. Vincent and Madame Gates for their work preparing students for the spelling

bee!

Page 3

Basketball Stars

Parish News

OLS Spelling Bee

Many classes have

been learning about

the Stations of the

Cross.

Each Wednesday

during Lent, 2 clas-

ses will attend the

Stations of the

Cross at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Sor-

rows Parish.

Winter Fun Day

Thank you very much to Miss Giroux and Madame Pearce for organizing Winter Fun Day activities. Although it was too cold to

engage in outdoor events, students had a great time circulating from one activity to another inside the school during the after-

noon. Grade 6 and 7 students were amazing leaders!

PRI NCI PA L: CHRIST I NA B R OW N

MONCION RECEIPTS PROGRAM

When shopping at Moncion Grocers, you can ask to have your receipt of over $25.00 stamped. Receipts are

collected in a box which is located at the front entrance of the school. They are used to redeem snacks for our

healthy snack program which we provide monthly. We encourage you to ask relatives, coworkers and friends

to collect receipts for you to submit as well. Every little bit helps! Thank you to Jamie Bowden for all her

work organizing this initiative!

LABELS FOR EDUCATION PROGRAM

Labels for Education has been awarding free educational equipment to schools in exchange for proofs of pur-

chase from the Campbell family of brands. We encourage families to send in any Campbell’s Soup labels

you may have to contribute to our program. As with the Moncion Receipts, we encourage you to ask rela-

tives, coworkers and friends to collect receipts for you. Thank you to Laurie Stepaniuk for taking the lead on

this program.

HOT LUNCH

Each month, we establish hot lunch days for students and staff. This month pizza from Petawawa Pizzeria

will be served on Wednesday, March 11th and 25th. We are grateful to Carrie Wilkins, Ana Clark, Arlene

Gallagher and Rob Adams for their continued work organizing and delivering hot lunches.

QSP MAGAZINE FUNDRAISER/PHOTO BOOK

Orders may continue to be placed through the website WWW.QSP.CA. They will be accepted until June.

When doing so, purchases will support our school. Please include the following information when on-line:

School Name: Our Lady of Sorrows School

Online School Code: 3974110

Please call customer service at 1-800-667-2536 with any questions regarding your QSP subscriptions.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR

A second Scholastic Book Fair was held during the week after Family Day. It was another great success! The profit was

$1038.82. Thank you to Linda Cooney for organizing the fair and to the many parent volunteers who took turns working shifts.

Page 4

School Council 2014-2015

PRI NCI PA L: CHRIST I NA B R OW N

FAMILY VALENTINE’S DAY DANCE

Our first Family Valentine’s Day Dance was a great success! We were so pleased with the number of families who participated.

The refreshments and prizes were wonderful. Our DJ, Trevor Bowden, did a fabulous job. The children were grooving to the

music! Many thanks to Jen Schori for taking the lead on organizing this event and to many subcommittee members for all the

time and effort they put forth to make sure the dance would be a success. Much of the funds collected at the dance was donated

to the Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa. It is a special place that has served many of our families well.

Page 5

School Council 2014-2015 Continued

SHROVE TUESDAY

Arlene Gallagher organized a pan-

cake snack including hot cakes,

oranges and apple juice for stu-

dents and staff on Shrove Tues-

day. We are so grateful to her and

all the parent volunteers who

served the breakfast!

NEXT MEETING

Please join us for our next school council meeting on

Tuesday, March 10th at 6:30 p.m.

Page 6 OU R LA DY OF S OR ROWS

Here is a list of some free math websites you and your child may find beneficial:

Virtual Math Manipulatives

Mah Magician

Math Fact Cafe

Toon University

Maths Zone

IXL Math

Math is fun

Friday, March 13th is Green and Gold Day to celebrate an early St. Patrick’s

Day.

Go Bears, Go Dolphins, Go Falcons, Go Pumas!

Dolphins

315 pts

Pumas

318 pts

Bears

309 pts

Falcons

262 pts

Mental Health News Emotions

Children do really well when they’re able

to understand and handle their emotions.

Here are steps that we can take to encour-

age children to understand and effectively

manage emotions:

Identify the emotions we’re feeling –

this is a skill that children need to

learn – ask your child what they are

feeling and identify feelings on tv or

in story books that others have.

Understanding why we’re feeling the

way we are – linking cause to feel-

ings helps to diffuse the intensity.

Examining options for how to react

in light of those feelings – problem

solve – asking “what can you do

about this to help you feel bet-

ter?”.

Talking About Mathematics

Mental Health Walk-in Clinics

Phoenix Centre 613-735-2374

Pembroke – Tue. 2-6pm

Renfrew – Thurs. 2-6pm

Robbie Dean Centre 613-433-4231

Pembroke – Wed. 5-9pm

Renfrew – Thurs. 5-9pm

Petawawa – Tues. 1-5 pm

Arnprior – Mon. 1-5 pm

As Catholics “we are called to claim our role as global stewards cherishing the

environment and all life in it” (Our Vision). Environmental education is a part of

every child’s learning. It fosters environmentally responsible practices.

Earth Hour is a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to envi-

ronmental education. It is a call for all of us to demonstrate leadership and be

responsible for our future by turning off lights for one hour. Not only can we

turn off the lights, but we can also turn on young minds. This year Earth Hour is

Saturday, March 28th from 8:30 – 9:30pm.

Earth Hour

More on Growth Mindset…..Taking Perseverance To A Whole New Level!

On November 30, 1939, the Soviet Union declared war on Finland. The odds, you could say, were against the Nordic country.

Only independent for 22 years, it had a total population of 4 million people. On the other hand, the Soviet army was 2.5 million

soldiers strong — with 810,000 of those sent Finland's way. But by March of the next year, what became known as the Winter

War was over, as the Soviet Union and Finland signed a peace treaty. How did such a tiny country hold off one of the greatest

superpowers in history? It wasn't only a matter of mastering wintry terrain. It was a matter of attitude.

"The Finns have something they call sisu. It is a compound of bravado and bravery, of ferocity and tenacity, of the ability to keep

fighting after most people would have quit, and to fight with the will to win. The Finns translate 'sisu' as 'the Finnish spirit,' but it

is a much more gutful word than that." (New York Times, 1940)

"It is not so much about achievement as it is about facing your challenges with valor and determination. It's the psychological

strength capacity that enables individuals to power on when they've reached the end of their psychological or physical resources."

(Emilia Lahti) Lahti contrasts sisu with other parts of human strength, like resilience, conscientiousness, or grit, which psycholo-

gists say is the best predictor of success. But while grit is maintaining passion and performance in the pursuit of a long-term goal,

sisu is your ability to take action against long odds.

But there are more examples than Finns and Reds. You're tapping into sisu when you determinedly go after your next job after

your company has layoffs, work to make a relationship last, or literally run an extra mile more than you planned to jog that morn-

ing.

Instead of just thinking that everything will turn out OK, a person with lots of sisu has the conviction that they'll be all right and

takes the necessary actions to shape those outcomes.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/finnish-word-sisu-is-key-to-success-2014-6#ixzz3Sgb58Mwl

Page 7

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

OU R LA DY OF S OR ROWS

TumbleBooksLibrary

E-books for e-kids

TumbleBookLibrary is an online

collection of animated, talking

picture books which teach young

children the joys of reading. Ac-

cess the collection from home by

logging on to:

www.TumbleBookLibrary.com

Username: olos

Password: books

The Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education 2015 Conference and Annual General

Meeting

Save the Date! May 29th and 30th

Best Western Pembroke Inn and Conference Centre

Pembroke , ON

Highlights of the day include:

Keynote Speaker: Genevieve Gallant (Development and Peace “Helping the World’s Poor”)

Keynote Speaker: Sherry Campbell (M.A. RSW

OACCPP “Raising Resilient Children”)

Special Guest: Liz Sandals, Minister of Education

“Poor No More”

March Break

Heavenly Father, I am called to walk by the light of Christ, your Son,

and to trust in his wisdom.

During Lent, I submit myself to him more and more and am striving

to believe in him with all my heart.

I enter on this path of repentance so that in dying to self I might rise

to new life.

Lord Jesus, you spoke peace to a sinful world and brought mankind

the gift of reconciliation by the suffering and death you endured. I

love you and joyfully bear the name Christian.

Teach me to follow your example. Increase my faith, hope and chari-

ty so that I may struggle to turn hatred to love and conflict to peace.

Loving Redeemer through your passion, teach me self-denial,

strengthen me against evil and adversity and so make me ready to

celebrate your Resurrection.

Healer of body and soul, cure the sickness in my spirit so that I may

grow in holiness through your constant care.

Forgive my sins against the unity of your family; make me love as

you loved me.

Good Master, make me mindful of the dignity you gave me in Bap-

tism, may I live for you at every moment.

Give me a perfect heart to receive your work, that I may bring forth

fruit in patience.

Renew my eagerness to work with you in building a better world, so

that my friends may hear your gospel of peace and justice.

A Prayer For Lent

Enjoy your March Break!

March 16th to March 20th

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated

on March 17th because it is be-

lieved that St. Patrick, the patron

saint and national apostle of Ire-

land, died on this date. It has

come to be associated with eve-

rything Irish: anything green and

gold, shamrocks and luck. Most importantly, to

those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Pat-

rick's Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal

and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide.

May the Irish hills caress you.

May her lakes and rivers bless

you.

May the luck of the Irish

enfold you.

May the blessings of Saint

Patrick behold you.

~ Irish Blessing

School Cash Online

For safety and efficiency, our Board is introducing

School Cash Online. This is an online payment ser-

vice.

The rationale to implement this is to reduce the amount

of cash and cheques coming into the school.

At this point, secretaries and principals are being

trained in implementation of the program. Please stay

tuned for more information about this new service.